Owner of cabin where Dorner died files damage claim with county

Cabin owner Candy Martin and her sons look through the charred debris of the mountain home where days earlier former cop Christopher Dorner died after a shootout with officers.

Cabin owner Candy Martin and her sons look through the charred debris of the mountain home where days earlier former cop Christopher Dorner died after a shootout with officers. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Emily Foxhall

San Bernardino County is considering claims seeking reimbursement for damages to the Big Bear-area cabin where fugitive Christopher Dorner died after a shootout with officers.

Cabin owner Candy Martin of Palmdale and her son Eric Funnell are seeking $420,000 and $10,000, respectively, from the county, according to the claim documents.

A lawsuit can only be filed if the claims are rejected by the county, said county spokesman David Wert.

Funnell declined to comment, saying, "We're right in the throes of it all."

The incident occurred Feb. 12, when authorities chasing Dorner followed him to the cabin. Deputies surrounded the area and used smoke bombs to provide cover for two who had been wounded.

Martin and Funnell stated in their claims that their personal property was "unnecessarily destroyed" when officials deployed tear gas canisters that allegedly caused a fire.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department "stood by and made no effort to extinguish the fire," the claims read, which led to damage of both the structure and personal property within.